A wet pattern across parts of the Plains, Midwest...

On the Plains, a few showers linger across central portions of the region. The showers delineate the boundary between cool air across the northern Plains and hot weather farther south. From Kansas southward, heat is maintaining heavy irrigation demands and stressing livestock and summer crops.

Across the Corn Belt, showers and thunderstorms are maintaining abundant to locally excessive moisture reserves for reproductive summer crops. Currently, some of the heaviest rain is falling in the middle Mississippi Valley.

In the South, hot, mostly dry weather favors rapid crop growth, although pockets of drought remain a concern with respect to pastures and summer crops from the Delta into the southern Mid-Atlantic region.

In the West, showers are confined to the Four Corners States. Elsewhere, hot, dry weather continues to promote fieldwork, including Northwestern winter wheat harvesting, and rapid crop development

During the next few days, near- to below-normal temperatures in the North will contrast with hot weather across much of the remainder of the U.S. During the weekend, however, heat will build across the East and West, while cooler air will overspread the central and southern Plains.

Meanwhile, frequent showers during the next 5 days will result in rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, with locally higher amounts, across the northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast.

Elsewhere, significant rainfall activity will be confined to the Gulf Coast region and the Four Corners States.

Looking ahead, the 6- to 10-day outlook calls for a continuation of near- to above-normal temperatures nationwide. Hot weather will be most likely in the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile, near- to above-normal precipitation across the majority of the U.S. will contrast with drier-than-normal conditions from the southeastern Plains into the Southeast.